Dec 22, 2009

SD 26 special election: Jason Engbrecht announcement press release

SD 26 DFL contender Jason Engbrecht sent Bluestem Prairie the press release announcing his candidacy, and I hope to interview him tomorrow.

The press release:

Jobs and education the focus as Engbrecht joins race for District 26 Senate seat

Citing the need for job growth in south-central Minnesota and throughout the state, Faribault school board member Jason Engbrecht today announced his candidacy for the open Minnesota Senate seat in District 26.

“In the past year I have had many friends and family members lose work, and seen the unemployment rate throughout Minnesota climb,” said Engbrecht, who has worked as a professor at St. Olaf College since 2002. “By giving our communities a stronger voice at the State Capitol, it is my goal to help reverse that trend and get Minnesota growing once again.”

As a school board member, Engbrecht said he has witnessed how decisions made in St. Paul have an immediate impact on communities like Faribault, Owatonna and Waseca. He said that after seeing what legislative decisions on matters like school funding, testing and education reform have meant to local school districts, the need for a strong voice in the Minnesota Senate has been magnified. Engbrecht said education and job growth are his main points of focus as he seeks the DFL endorsement.

“I grew up watching my father struggle to make ends meet, for our family and for his employees, as a small business owner,” Engbrecht said. “Small, local businesses are the lifeblood of communities like ours, and the creator of the jobs that we so desperately need. I will work to ensure those concerns are heard and those needs are met at the State Capitol.”

Originally from North Dakota, Engbrecht has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Trinity University in Texas and a PhD in atomic physics from the University of Michigan. His wife, Lisa, is an Early Childhood Special Education teacher in Faribault and the couple is raising two daughters.